The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Typically a wellhead assembly is attached to a well pipe. The well pipe leads into a well to some predetermined depth sufficient for the recovery of methane from the well. The wellhead forms an assembly, which typically includes a gas flow control valve, which allows a flow line or flow tube to be coupled to the wellhead so that methane gas flowing up through the well pipe and into the wellhead can be routed through the wellhead into the flow line and captured at some remote storage tank.
Typically the well head includes a gas flow control valve having a tubular inlet and a tubular outlet. The tubular inlet is typically connected via adhesives to an inlet tube, and the inlet tube is connected to a plate or similar structure at an upper end of the well pipe. The gas flow control valve helps a user to control a flow rate of the methane gas out through the wellhead.
The use of adhesives to construct a permanent adhesive joint between the tubular inlet of the gas control valve and an end of the inlet tube has certain drawbacks. The adhesive connection does not allow for rotational movement of wellhead assembly relative to the inlet tube. As a result, adjustable positioning of the gas flow line attached to the wellhead is not possible.
Still further, the use of adhesives is not ideal from a manufacturing standpoint. Adhesives tend to be somewhat messy, at least from an assembly standpoint. Often, ventilation has to be carefully controlled in the indoor work environment when doing assembly work indoors with various types of adhesive because of the harmful vapors that many types of adhesives give off. Assembly workers also may need to use gloves or otherwise wear clothing that is disposable in the event the adhesives accidentally are rubbed onto the worker's clothing. Time is typically needed for the adhesive joint to fully cure, and movement or jostling of the parts being joined prior to the adhesive joint becoming fully cured can prevent a strong adhesive joint from being formed between the parts being joined. And adhesives are generally less effective, and more likely to fail, when used on parts that will be exposed to extremely cold climates. Still further, the shelf life of certain adhesives has to be taken into account to make sure the adhesive is used in a timely fashion. In view of the foregoing, any assembly means for securing parts of a wellhead assembly together which does not involve the use of adhesives would be highly desirable from a manufacturing standpoint.